Kazakh shipping firm plans $800 mln investment

Kazmortransflot, the shipping arm of Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas, plans to spend around $800 million renewing its fleet over the next eight years and may
list on the Central Asian state's stock market.
Altynai Ualieva, director of the company's representative office in the Kazakh capital Astana, told reporters on Friday that Kazmortransflot would also consider borrowing to finance the expansion of its shipping fleet.
"In total, we require in the region of $800 million in the next seven to eight years," Ualieva said on the sidelines of an oil conference.
"If we can, our company will list on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange in 2012," she said, adding that the potential listing would be part of the state's plan for a "people's IPO (initial public offering)" to boost citizens' exposure to the local stock market.
Kazakhstan, the largest economy in Central Asia, plans to launch a series of IPO's to improve liquidity in its stock market and allow some of its 16.4 million people to own shares in its major companies.
Ualieva declined to reveal the size of the stake that the company might float.
Source: Reuters